The reason why the mixed-race giant wants to go out on the WBC "for this reason" has finally been revealed

*This content was translated by AI.

It was immediately revealed why Jamai Jones (29), who has a respectable career in the Major League, wants to participate in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March. It is said that it is because of his Korean mother. Zamai told the story that he wanted to repay the sacrifice of his Korean mother, who silently filled the vacancy of his father, who suddenly passed away as a child.

Jones said in a recent interview with The Athletic, an American sports media outlet, "I wanted to play for the Korean national team in the WBC to repay my mother's dedication. It contains the meaning of respect for everything that my mother gave her. It means a lot to me. I'm getting emotional, but it's really precious," he said.

According to the interview, in 2011, when Jones was 13, his father Andre Jones, a former NFL player, passed away suddenly from brain aneurysm disease. At the time, what was left of Jones' Korean mother, Michelle, were six siblings aged 9 to 23.

There was no time to grieve. Michelle, a small but strong woman born in Korea, kept her family by supporting her six siblings, including Jamai. "My mother was not disturbed for a single moment," Jones recalled, "and I could feel how strong she was and what she was enduring for us even if I didn't say it."

Jones always thought of his mother even after his first major league call-up in the 2020 season. He hit his first major league career home run on "Mother's Day" when he was with the New York Yankees in 2024, and also made headlines when he hit a home run in the city where his father played as an NFL player in his debut in Detroit in the 2025 season.

Jones has grown into a typical OPS (on-base plus slugging) hitter in the Major League. He played a career-high 72 games in Detroit in the 2025 season, hitting .287 (37 hits in 129 at-bats) with seven home runs and 23 RBIs. OPS also complied with 0.937. He's not the main hitter in Detroit, but he's established himself.

But deep down he had another goal. It was to be part of the Korean national team for her mother who devoted herself. Jones directly consulted the Korean side through the agency and expressed his desperation by drawing a Korean flag on his bat.

"My mother confirmed every day that we could do anything," Jones said, shedding tears during the interview, "Being able to do something for her, it's one of the most important things in my baseball life."

Jones has never stepped on Korean soil yet. However, Korean blood flows in his body. After the season, he always ate LA ribs made by his Korean mother, and the memories of the whole family gathering to make dumplings on holidays remain in his memory.

Now Jones is scheduled to compete in the first round of the WBC in Tokyo, Japan, in March. Jones plans to invite his mother's two older sisters to the scene in Japan.

"The moment I face my mother after the game in Japan, I'm sure I'll burst into tears," Jones said. "I may not have fully understood the weight of the Taegeuk mark, but I will only feel it the moment I stand on the ground."

Jones, who became a father of one at the age of 29, is now getting to know his mother's heart little by little. His confession, "My mother, who was a small Korean woman, but her love was greater than anything else," is touching with calm emotion. At the same time, Jones' joining the national team is expected to give the sport's natural impression of "bloodline" and "family" beyond simple power reinforcement.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.